Cowpea cover crop with volunteer triticale.

10:00am          Welcome, Introductions, and Project Overview

                       Michelle Leinfelder-Miles and Brenna Aegerter, UCCE, San Joaquin County

10:20am          “Lightning Talks”

Brief presentations from organizations working on cover cropping and soil health

             Cool Season Cover Cropping: Sarah Light and Amber Vinchesi-Vahl, UCCE

             Cover Cropping Survey: Ben Weise, Contra Costa Resource Conservation District

             Climate Smart Farming Program: Sara Tiffany, Community Alliance with Family Farmers

             Cover Cropping Incentive Programs: Sonya Miller, USDA-NRCS San Joaquin County

             Summer Cover Crop Options: Valerie Bullard and Margaret Smither-Kopperl, USDA-NRCS                                               Plant Materials Center

10:45am          Caravan to field site

11:00am          Warm Season Legume Cover Cropping in the Delta – Preliminary Results from Year 1

                       Michelle Leinfelder-Miles and Brenna Aegerter, UCCE

11:15am          Viewing of plot

11:45am          Wrap-up and Evaluations

The annual UC Davis Small Grains and Alfalfa Field Day will take place on Wednesday, May 15, 2019 at the Agronomy Field Headquarters (2400 Hutchison Drive, Davis, CA 95616). Registration opens at 7:30am, and lunch is provided between the small grains morning program and alfalfa afternoon program. The event is free and open to the public, and continuing education credits will be available. Directions are as follows: 

The field day is located on Hutchison Drive, just west of Davis. Take the Hwy. 113 exit north from I-80, or Hwy. 113 south from Woodland. Exit west on Hutchison Drive. Take a right at the first roundabout, a left at the second roundabout, and the Agronomy Headquarters is about ¼ mile down in a clump of trees and buildings on the left. 

The agenda is as follows:

8:00am – Noon: Small Grains Program

8:00     Welcome and Opening Remarks

8:20     Depart for field (travel to breeding trials)

8:35     Malting Barley & Oat Breeding: Alicia del Blanco, UC Davis

8:45     Barley Breeding for Food, Feed and Forage: Allison Krill-Brown, UC Davis

9:00     New Wheat Varieties: Oswaldo Chicaiza, UC Davis

9:15     Breeding Triticales for Bread and Forage: Josh Hegarty, UC Davis

9:25     Increasing Grain Size and Number: Alejandra Alvarez, UC Davis

9:35     A New Gene Controlling Number of Grains Per Spike: Saarah Kuzay, UC Davis

9:40     Balancing Source and Sink to Increase Yield: Jorge Dubcovsky, UC Davis

10:00   Herbicide Programs for Barley and Wheat: small grain herbicides and maximizing efficacy for control: Lynn Sosnoski, UC Cooperative Extension

10:20   Italian Ryegrass: Updates on Cultivation vs Herbicide Trials: resistance and methods for control: Konrad Mathesius, UC Cooperative Extension

10:30   Warm-season legume cover crop between winter small grains: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UC Cooperative Extension (This project was supported by the California Climate Investments program.)

10:45   Using Nitrogen Rich Reference Zones to Guide Wheat Topdress Decisions in the Sacramento Valley: Sarah Light, UC Cooperative Extension

10:55   Yield and Protein Stability for Wheat and Triticale Varieties Grown under N and Terminal Drought Stress: Mark Lundy, UC Cooperative Extension

11:05   Updates on UC Statewide Small Grain Trials: Seasonal conditions, pests and diseases, nitrogen management, and extension efforts: Mark Lundy, UC Cooperative Extension

11:15   Comments from breeders with entries in UC Statewide Small Grain Trials

11:30   UC Statewide Small Grain Trial Observations

11:50   Return for lunch

12:00 BBQ Lunch: Many thanks to the California Crop Improvement Association for the complimentary lunch!

12:30 - 4:00: Alfalfa/Forages Program

12:40   Welcome and Introductions: Dan Putnam, UC Cooperative Extension/UC Davis

12:45   Depart for field tour

12:55   Managing Alfalfa in a Wet Year- What are the Diseases? How to Keep your Fields Healthy:  Rachael Long, UC Cooperative Extension

1:10     IPM and Managing for Weevil Resistance in Alfalfa: Ian Grettenberger, UC Davis

1:25     Evaluation of N Stabilizers in Corn: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UC Cooperative Extension

1:40     Forage Sorghum as a Summer Option: Controlling Sugarcane Aphid in Sorghum/Sudangrass: Nick Clark, UC Cooperative Extension

1:55     Innovations in Overhead Irrigation – How that might improve Water Use Efficiency: Isaya Kisekka, UC Davis 

2:10     Fun with Drones –Detecting Pest and Diagnosing Problems with Aerial Photography: Umair Gull, UC Davis 

2:25     Controlling Difficult Weeds in Alfalfa: Lynn Sosnoskie, UC Cooperative Extension

2:50     Alternative Crops Research: Kura Clover, Switchgrass, Hemp: Dan Putnam, UC Davis

3:05     Reduced Lignin Alfalfa Varieties and Interactions with Harvest Scheduling: Brenda Perez, UC Davis

3:20     Analyzing Alfalfa Varieties for Pest Resistance (Nematodes, Insects, Diseases) and other characteristics: Dan Putnam, UC Davis

3:35     Alfalfa and Tall Fescue Breeding Programs at UC Davis: Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

3:50     Test your Weed ID IQ: Weed Identification: Brad Hanson, UC Davis

4:15     Return to Headquarters

UC Cooperative Extension will host the SJC and Delta Field Crops Meeting on Thursday, January 17, 2019 from 8:00am to 12:00pm. The meeting location is the Cabral Agricultural Center in Stockton (2101 E. Earhart Ave., Stockton, CA 95206). Coffee and light refreshments will be provided.

The agenda is attached at the bottom of this post, and is as follows:

8:00am     Doors Open and Sign In

8:15am     Nitrogen Stabilizers in Silage Corn, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE San Joaquin/Delta Counties

8:45am     Measuring the Interaction between N Demand and Water Use in Irrigated Corn, Mark Lundy, UC Davis

9:15am     Regulatory Update, Tim Pelican, San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner

9:30am     Fish Friendly Farming Program for the Delta, Laurel Marcus, California Land Stewardship Institute

9:45am     Break

10:00am   Agronomic Strategies to Improve Alfalfa Pest Management, Dan Putnam, UC Davis

10:30am   Opportunities for Automation and Optimization of Surface Irrigation Systems, Khaled Bali, UCCE, Kearney Research and Extension Center

11:00am   Italian Ryegrass Management in California Wheat Cropping Systems, Mariano Galla, UCCE, Glenn/Butte/Tehama Counties

11:30am   Managing for Soil Health and Soil Salinity, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE, San Joaquin/Delta Counties

12:00pm   Evaluations and Adjourn

We have submitted applications for continuing education for pesticide licensing and certified crop advisors. We have also submitted an application for nitrogen management continuing education, which would help to satisfy growers' continuing education requirement for the Irrigated Lands Program. Applications are pending.

Our programs are open to all potential participants. If you require special accommodations, please contact UCCE San Joaquin County at 209-953-6100. Thank you, and hope to see you at the meeting.

Delta field corn variety trial

Agenda:

10:00am         Field corn variety evaluation – preliminary results, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE, SJC/Delta

10:15am         Variety traits for the Delta, Seed company representatives

10:30am         N stabilizer product trial in silage corn, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE, SJC/Delta

10:45am         Measuring the interaction between N demand and water use in irrigated corn, Taylor Becker and Mark  Lundy, UC Davis

11:00am         Viewing of field plots